Jauhar - A Quarterly Magazine of JMI

IN FOCUS

The great leapCommonwealth Games has come as a bonanza for Jamia, as it heralds a generational transformation of its infrastructure ..................................4

COURSE OF ACTION

Creating a future mapWhy are the PG Diplomas in Remote Sensing and Cartography, offered by the Department of Geography, a big hit ..............................14

STUDENT ZONE

The world on your paletteWhat eating options do students explore? Exciting cuisines from Jamia’s suburbia ....................................................................................16

Photonic futureWaiz Karim’s future in light studies; Neha Singh’s fascination for Harry Potter; and Rameez Nemat’s cricket ‘specialisation’ ..................18

PAGE OUT OF THE PAST

Product of KhilafatThe birth of Jamia and its key players; also, reminiscences of a 99-year-old alumnus ........................................................................21

AlsoON CAMPUS Happenings in Jamia 7PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS Faculty publications 23

Contents

2|Jauhar | September-November 2010

Jauhar is published by The Registrar, Jamia Millia Islamia, Maulana Mohamed Ali Jauhar Marg, New Delhi 110025

Chief Patron: Najeeb Jung,Vice-Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia

Editorial Board:Simi Malhotra, Media Coordinator Zahid H Khan, Abdul Bismillah,S Ghazanfar H Zaidi,Mukul Kesavan, Dakshita Singh

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�9 Faculties �37 Departments �27 Centres of Excellence and Research �231 Courses �642 Faculty Members�Over 15,000 Undergraduate, Post-Graduate and Diploma/Certificate Students

The Jamia Millia Islamia was conceptualised as a

movement. Inspired by the Mahatma, a group of

freedom fighters, sworn to the cause of nationalism and

Hindu-Muslim unity, dedicated themselves to building a modern

educational institution. They received wide support from all

secular and nationalist sections and personalities, including

Rabindranath Tagore, Sarojini Naidu and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Starting in a small way at the Krishna Ashram in Aligarh, this

child of the nationalist movement soon moved to Karol Bagh in

Delhi and then to the Okhla area of Delhi, where it is now located

in a sprawling and lush campus.

Jamia became a Central University in 1988 and has since

grown by leaps and bounds. Today, the University offers over

200 courses in 9 Faculties, 37 Departments and 27 Centres of

Research and Excellence, catering to over 15,000 students. It

also manages 4 schools, which act as a feeder to the University.

This magazine is dedicated to the founders of Jamia, to such

great men like Shaikhul Hind Maulana Mahmud Hassan,

Maulana Mohamed Ali Jauhar (after whom we name this maga-

zine), Dr MA Ansari, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Abdul Majid Khwaja,

Dr Zakir Husain, Professor Mujeeb, Professor Abid Hussain and

scores of other stalwarts who gave up flourishing careers and

dedicated their lives to the movement we now know as the

Jamia Millia Islamia. This is our humble tribute to them!

Today, this modern University dreams of great years ahead.

It has the blessings of the Government and the people of India.

It stands at the threshold of completing a century of its existence,

and looks forward to the wonderful frontiers, the magnificent

peaks, the lovely rivers and valleys, and the greatest heights of

human endeavour that its students will cross.

We seek the blessings of all in our endeavours!

Najeeb JungVice-Chancellor

Jauhar | September-November 2010 |3

From theVice-Chancellor

Maulana Mohamed Ali ‘Jauhar’

Founder, Jamia Millia Islamia

IN FOCUS | UPGRADE

“In the process of organising the Common-

wealth Games, we are bestowing upon

universities an impressive infrastructure

as a legacy,” declared Dr MS Gill, Minister for

Sports and Youth Affairs, while inaugurating

the multi-purpose sports hall at Jamia

Millia Islamia in New Delhi on

August 5. He was referring to an

overhaul of sporting infrastructure

in the two premier universities of

Delhi, Jamia Millia Islamia and

the University of Delhi.

Jamia will be the practice venue

for table tennis and rugby 7s and its

sports complex came to be among the first

venues to be ready for the Commonwealth Games,

to be held in October.

Speaking at the inauguration, Vice-Chancellor

Najeeb Jung expressed his happiness at being

given this upgrade. Referring to the rich sporting

tradition of the University, he said that about 90

students, all of them playing at the national level,

had been granted admission this year. These stu-

dents have a great sporting infrastructure to look

forward to. The Games venue has been handed

over to the Commonwealth Games Organising

Committee, and Jamia will get back possession

after the Games.

Of course, the university had to make a deter-

mined effort to bag the bonanza. Zubair Meenai,

Dean, Students Welfare, Jamia, who is overseeing

the project, says, “The Government of India iden-

tified us as a practice venue, following which we

submitted a proposal. After that, it was a long bat-

tle with the Planning Commission and the Delhi

Police. Finally, we managed this. The upgrade is

being financed by the Ministry of Sports and

Youth Affairs.”

The Commonwealth Games hascome as a bonanza for Jamia, as it heralds a generational transformation of the University’ssporting and hostel infrastructure

The great

LEAP

The refurbished JMI Sports Complex;(below) VC Najeeb Jung with SportsMinister MS Gill and former Indiacricket captain MAK Pataudi.


So, what will students get

as a reward for their pat-

ience? For one, the multipur-

pose hall has been

completely refurbished. The

roof and the floor

have been changed, while the

walls have been strengthened

and the facade has been

given a makeover. Air condi-

tioning, lighting and

acoustics have been redone.

There’s now an audience

gallery too.

Rail India Technical and Economic Services’

(RITES) Managing Director VK Agarwal, who was

present at the inauguration of the facility, told

mediapersons that when RITES got the contract for

refurbishing the facility, they didn’t have the

expertise in this field. There-

fore, before starting work,

they visited sporting

facilities in Australia and

New Zealand to understand

how they were built and

maintained.

Their task also involved

converting the Jamia cricket

ground into a rugby facility.

Jamia’s sports ground has al-

ways been much talked

about in the sporting frater-

nity and much has been writ-

ten about it in the media. Converting it into a rugby

field required digging up 60 cms of the ground,

adding layers of graded sand, and sowing special

grass, the seeds of which had to be imported. It was

also given a new drainage system. Says Agarwal,

� Rugby 7s, table tennis practice venue

� Overhaul of multiutility hall� Conversion of cricket groundinto rugby ground

� Upgrade of tennis,volleyball courts

� Jogging track� Additional facilities like massage, meeting room, lounge, ice bath

� Cost: `42 crore� Financed by: Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs

TURF TALK


IN FOCUS | UPGRADE

“Given the environmental standards, importing

seeds is a complicated process, and led to a delay

of four months. Still we managed to sow the seeds

and are hopeful that the grass would have attained

sufficient growth by the time of the Games.”

Adding to the utility value of the hall and the

ground, are the numerous services that will be

available to sportspersons. For instance, in addi-

tion to changing rooms and baths, there will be a

fitness centre, a lounge to relax in, stores for equip-

ment, physiotherapy and massage rooms, a med-

ical room, a venue coordinator’s room, a meeting

and briefing room, a cafeteria and ice baths.

Meenai is delighted that Jamia’s own sportsper-

sons will get to use these top facilities once the

event is over.

Besides, the incremental benefits are many.

Says Noor Mohammad, Director, Physical Educa-

tion: “The adjoining tennis and volleyball grounds

have also been upgraded to international levels to

serve as recreational facilities for ath-

letes.” He also points to the synthetic

walking/jogging track that has come up

along the perimeter of the cricket/

rugby field. Noor Mohammad is happy

because until recently Jamia students,

staff and people from nearby localities

had been using the ground as a jogging

track and damaging the grass.

All the facilities will have full power

back-up and emergency lighting.

The total cost of upgrading infra-

structure has come to `42 crore.

Once the Games is over, Jamia has

plans for training students in several indoor and

outdoor games, and the University is in talks with

sports federations to provide specialised coaching

in tennis, badminton, basketball and volleyball.

The Sports Authority of India has also identified

the sports complex as its extension centre.

Meanwhile, even students not keen on sport can

take heart. The Games brings good news to them

too. The hostels of the university are being refur-

bished, for use during the Games. The upgrade of

hostels is being financed by the University Grants

Commission, at a cost of `5 crore.

Jamia has hostel facilities for 1,500 boys and

500 girls. For the sporting event, it’s making

available rooms for 700 persons, including 500

in the boys’ hostel and 200 in the girls’

hostel. A few blocks in both the hostels are

being refurbished. This includes redoing

of toilets, re-laying drainage and installing

solar-powered geysers. Rooms are being

furnished with new beds, side racks, mir-

rors, pelmets and curtains. The floors are

being re-laid and the walls whitewashed.

Rarely do educational institutions witness

such a revolutionary makeover. Jamia has

been blessed twice over.

Game for change: Union Minister for Sports & Youth AffairsMS Gill with Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit; ((Right) The new rugby ground.

� JMI hostels to house visitors to CWG,provide 700 beds

� Rooms’ upgrade, new furniture, curtains, flooring, whitewash

� Toilets: relaying of drainage, solar-powered geysers, lounge, ice bath

� Cost: `5 crore� Financed by: University Grants Commission

BEDSIDE STORY


ON CAMPUSON CAMPUS | JAMIA NEWS

Grant for upgradeJamia receives a special grant of `54.2 crore from UGC

Funds to expand the nano frontier Centre gives `8 crore to JMI to carry out research in nano-sciences

Recognising the research work

carried out by the Department

of Physics and the Depart-

ment of Applied Sciences in the field

of Nanotechnology, the Union Govern-

ment’s Department of Information

Technology has sanctioned over

`8 Crore to JMI to carry out advanced

research in the field.

Under this grant, these two

departments will conduct two

research projects.

Jamia will become the first univer-

sity to carry out research in ‘Synthe-

sising Single Wall Carbon

Nanotubes’. Also, Jamia will

use single walled nanotubes for

device applications of sensors. This

will be path-breaking research

in India.

The University has been doing

cutting-edge research in the areas of

Nano-sciences/Nanotechnology. In

recognition of its work, the University

has already been awarded a project

on ‘Carbon Nanotubes’ by the

Defence Research Development

Organisation (DRDO).

The University Grants Commission (UGC)

has allocated a special grant of `54.2 crore

to Jamia Millia Islamia. The University will

use the fund to upgrade its laboratories and con-

struct new buildings, among other things.

This special allocation is over and above the

XIth Plan General Development Grant sanctioned

by the UGC to the University.

The University also plans to add new

classrooms and laboratories for its students

and research scholars. Support services to

feed existing infrastructure will also be up-

graded, such as construction of a waste

water treatment plant to recycle water, a

safe drinking water system and solar light-

ing systems in the classrooms.

The additional grant will also be used to

make hard/soft copies of journals available

to students/researchers in the University.

The sum will help the University upgrade

facilities and infrastructure of Jamia

schools too.

In order to provide high-level IT facilities

to students and staff of the University, the

FTK-Centre for Information Technology

will be upgraded to accommodate high-

speed internet servers, 2G and 3G Network

services, etc.

The grant will also help the University expand

its existing hostels and dining facilities to accom-

modate more students.

These much-needed upgrades will go a long

way in enhancing the learning environment on the

campus.

Mirza Ghalib’s statue at the Main Campus of the University.


ON CAMPUS | JAMIA NEWS

The Department of Biotechnology, Jamia

Millia Islamia, has been rated among the

Top 10 Public Institutes of India by the

Biospectrum Biotech School Survey 2010.

The Department has been placed at the top spot

under the category of ‘Ranking by Placement

Score’. Jamia led the category, beating other insti-

tutions in the country by a huge margin.

The survey was conducted under various

categories, such as, i) Ranking by Industry Interac-

tion, ii) Ranking by Faculty Score, iii) Ranking by

Infrastructure Score, and, iv) Ranking by Place-

ment Score.

The Department of Biotechnology offers MSc

and PhD courses in Biotechnology and Molecular

Biology. There are currently 30 seats offered in MSc

and students who have passed out of the university

have been placed in institutions such as IIT and

AIIMS, among others, apart from placements in

top Biotechnology companies.

There are, at present, 25 PhD research scholars

in the Department, who are engaged in cutting-

edge research in Molecular Biology and Biotechnol-

ogy. The Department has well-equipped labs,

besides tie-ups with various international organi-

sations. It has also filed for two patents.

The Department of History & Culture at Jamia

Millia Islamia has been rated as a Centre of Ex-

cellence in a survey titled ‘Arts and Humanities

Research Mapping, India’, conducted by the India

Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore. The survey has

listed 32 centres of excellence all over the country.

These Centres of Excellence have been chosen, among

other factors, for the merit and the strength of their re-

search programmes, and for the multi-pronged activ-

ities they have initiated in order to advance their

chosen areas of research.

The report states that “in choosing the institutions

the strongest emphasis has been placed on the quality

of research, as evident through the publications of the

faculty and research scholars; the perception of the in-

stitution in question among members of the academic

community in India and abroad; and its contribution

to the specific field of research and to the larger do-

main of the arts and humanities.”

According to the report, the Department of History

& Culture, since its inception, has been led by a group

of distinguished historians, who have emphasised the

teaching and writing of the social and cultural history

of medieval India as a way of both understanding and

bringing about progressive change in South Asia.

Prof SK Thorat, Chairman, University

Grants Commission (UGC), visited

Jamia Millia Islamia to inaugurate a six-day

workshop on ‘Research and Publications in

Social Sciences’ on August 23. The work-

shop was organised by the university’s Aca-

demic Staff College.

Vice-Chancellor Najeeb Jung chaired the

Inaugural Session of the six-day workshop.

The workshop was part of a new initia-

tive by the UGC to promote and strengthen

social sciences in India.

During the workshop, participants were

introduced to the skills required to prepare

research papers for publication in journals

and guidelines and norms governing such

publication. A distinctive feature of the

workshop was a one-on-one discussion with

participants on the research papers they

had submitted at the workshop.

Nearly 350 faculty members had

applied to Jamia, out of which 35 were

selected for the workshop.

Among the best for biotechJamia’s Department of Biotechnology rated among the Top 10 Public Institutes of India

Pride in past studies The Department of History & Culture isnamed a Centre of Excellence

Research workshopTraining in the do’s and don’ts of writing for journals


Prof Syed Mohammad Rashid, Professor of

Geography and the Dean, Faculty of Natural

Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, has been

appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University. He

joined the new appointment on August 13th 2010.

Prof Rashid has been associated with Jamia since

1961, when he joined the Jamia School as a student

of class VIII. There has been no looking back ever

since, for the little boy from a small town in Madhya

Pradesh. He subsequently graduated from Jamia.

After that he went to Aligarh Muslim University for

further studies, only to return in 1973, as a lecturer in

Geography, to his alma mater Jamia Millia Islamia,

which had always meant the world to him.

Prof Rashid acknowledges the inspiration he re-

ceived from the Late Anwar Jamal Kidwai, former

Vice-Chancellor of Jamia, to undertake training in

Remote Sensing and GIS, which brought about a sea

change in his academic endeavours. Prof Rashid’s in-

sight in the use of Remote Sensing in Geographical

Studies, and his efforts in popularising Remote Sens-

ing in universities and colleges across the country, are

accomplishments widely acknowledged by both

geographers and scientists.

About his long association with Jamia, Prof

Rashid says, “when I joined Jamia in 1961 I was

barely 12 years of age. However, it did not take too

long for me to adjust to the new environs, primarily

due to the parental affection that I received from my

teachers in school, such as Akhtar Farooqui sahib,

Mohd Husain Abbu and Mohd Yousuf Papa, who

were more than teachers to me. It was their parental

affection that brought me so close to Jamia. I can

never forget the incident, when on a particular night

I had fallen from my bunker bed in my hostel dormi-

tory, seriously injuring myself. When I regained con-

sciousness the next day, I found my head bandaged.

When I asked around, my hostel mates told me that

our warden Mr Akhtar Husain Farooqui sahib had

taken me to the hospital for treatment. Today I can’t

even begin to imagine how he could have done that

at such an odd hour, in times when transport facilities

were so rare. These bonds of affection made me find

a home away from home.”

Prof Rashid adds, “I wish we, the teachers of

today’s Jamia, could play a role beyond classroom, so

that our students remember us, the way I remember

my teachers even after 50 years.”

About his new appointment, Prof Rashid says, “I

will work in the best interest of the University, and

my job as Pro Vice-Chancellor would be to lend sup-

port to the Vice-Chancellor, Mr Najeeb Jung, in mak-

ing the Jamia movement a success.”

Former VC to head National ArchivesP

rofessor Mushirul

Hasan, former Vice-

Chancellor of Jamia Mil-

lia Islamia and a serving

Professor, has been ap-

pointed Director General

of the National Archives of India.

Prof Hasan has been a Professor

in Jamia since 1981. He

read history at Aligarh Muslim Uni-

versity and Cambridge University.

Besides teaching and holding nu-

merous responsibilities at Jamia, he

also served as the Vice-Chairman of

Indian Institute of Advanced Study,

Shimla, and as Visiting Professor to

several universities.

Move to MANUU

Professor Mohammad Miyan took

over as Vice-Chancellor of

Maulana Azad National Urdu Univer-

sity (MANUU), Hyderabad, earlier this

year. Prof Miyan had earlier worked

in Jamia since 1973 and was the

Honorary Director of the Centre for

Distance and Open Learning. He was

also the Dean of the Faculty of Edu-

cation, besides holding numerous

other responsibilities in the Univer-

sity. Prof Miyan specialises in Dis-

tance Education, Elementary Educa-

tion and Educational Administration.

Guest Editor

Prof MM Sufyan Beg,

Head of the Depart-

ment of Computer Engi-

neering, Jamia Millia

Islamia, has been invited

to be the Guest Editor of

the November 2010 issue of Com-

puter Society of India Communica-

tions. This would be a special issue

on ‘Fuzzy Campus’.

Prof Rashid is Pro Vice-Chancellor


Joining Jamia School in 1961, he has been associated with the institution for half a century


Come January, Jamia Millia Islamia’s

voluminous collection of manuscripts and

rare books will be accessible in a new build-

ing, located near the existing library. Work is under

way in full swing at the spacious and swanky new

building, dedicated to victims of the Partition. Some

of the collections have already been moved to the

building, which has an airy ambience with well-lit

reading areas, circular corridors and a central

courtyard.

Meanwhile, electri-

cal work, air condition-

ing, cabling for

internet, and fire safety

are being put in place

before the library can

become operational.

Digitalisation of jour-

nals and periodicals is

also progressing at a

rapid pace. Prof Gayas

Makhdumi, University Librarian, says that once the

process is over, students will be able to access a large

number of journals and periodicals from wherever

they are.

The four-storey building has four halls for read-

ing. Faculty and research scholars have a separate

reading area, with chairs upholstered in a pleasing

purple. Meanwhile, students have already begun

accessing the journals section.

On the first floor of the library are the prized pos-

sessions of the University – its collection of over

2,000 manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Pushto,

Punjabi and Hindi on subjects as varied as Quranic

Studies, Hadith, Jurisprudence, Sufism, Philosophy,

Logic, Astrology, Music, Chemistry and History.

Among the rare books are History of the Growth

and Decay of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1638, pub-

lished in 1734 and State of the Ottoman Empire by

Paul Rycant, published by John Starkey in 1968. In

addition, there are microfilms of some important

manuscripts like Yaddasht-hai-Tipu Sultan,

Taimurnama and Dastoor-ul-amal-Alamgir. Mi-

crofilms also exist of newspapers like Comrade,

Awadh Punch and Madina. And in one huge hall, in

column after column, are bound volumes of old

Urdu and English newspapers like Al-Hilal (started

by Maulana Azad) and Al-Balagh, besides Awadh

Punch and Comrade.

The library has an archive section, displaying

photographs of the early years of Jamia and letters

written by its founding fathers.

The library has a collection of about 300,000

books, subscribes to 440 print journals and provides

access to 6,000 e-journals. There’s a separate Jamia

authors’ collection, wherein books and monographs

by Jamia faculty and scholars associated with Jamia

are stored. Besides, the library is also an institutional

member of British Council Library, American Infor-

mation Centre, Inflibnet and Delnet.

The Jamia library is an ideal hunting ground for

scholars from around the world.

New abodeJamia’s collection of rare books, manuscripts to move to a new location

� About 300,000 books, 440print journals, 6,000 e-journals

� Rare books and manuscriptslike the History of the Growthand Decay of the OttomanEmpire, Taimurnama

� Bound volumes of old Urdunewspapers and microfilmsof some of these

BIBLIO-FILE

The new library building (above) and the journals section (below)


To help further academic exchanges in mass

communication and media studies, Jamia

Millia Islamia recently signed an MoU with

the University of Zurich, Switzerland. The MoU was

signed with the Institute of Mass Communication

and Media Research at the University of Zurich.

Both universities have agreed to promote research

and scholarly exchange through faculty exchanges,

exchange of academic material and publications,

and joint research activities and projects. The

MoU has been signed initially for a period of three

years, which may be extended if both sides decide

to do so.

Another MOU was signed with the Digital Em-

powerment Foundation, New Delhi, with the objec-

tive of promoting and developing the study of

‘Mapping Media Advocacy in South Asia’. Both

institutions will jointly develop programmes, hold

seminars and exchange visits. This exchange may

include faculty/staff development, student

exchange, seminars, conferences, workshops, shar-

ing academic data and publications.

The MoU will be initially valid for a period of one

year.

Forging yet another significant partnership, the

University signed an MoU with Microsoft Corpora-

tion under the Microsoft University Education Al-

liance Programme.

Under this, Microsoft will conduct short-term

computer training programmes for the faculty

members and administrative staff of Jamia in a

phased manner.

Partnerships for progress A series of MoUs with academia and industry to foster educational excellence

Topper talkCivil Services topper Dr Shah Faisal visits Jamia to inspire IAS aspirants

The Centre for Coaching and Career Plan-

ning, Jamia Millia Islamia, organised an

Interactive Session with Dr Shah Faisal, the

IAS topper of 2009, on August 10. The idea behind

organising the session was to get Jamia students

to interact with the top achiever and get a first-

hand account of his success story.

The interaction was in the form of an open ques-

tion-answer session. Urging Jamia’s students to

pursue a career in the IAS, Dr Faisal gave them

several practical tips to crack the examination. He

asked young aspirants to use the internet on their

mobile phones; read Wikipedia and its link pages;

write regularly; revise regularly; and read two

national newspapers daily.

Dr Faisal said that his first priority as an IAS

officer would be to reduce the gap between the ad-

ministration and the people it represents.

Success seems to have become a habit with this

26-year-old medico, who also topped at the Sher-

i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences. All the

more inspiring, for he comes from a remote village

in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir

and studied in a village school.

Dr Faisal was at his philosophical best and

thrilled the packed hall with Allama Iqbal’s poetry:

Tu Abhi Reh-Guzar Mein Hai,

Qaid-E-Makaam Se Guzar,

Misar-O-Hijaaz Se Guzar,

Paares-O-Sham Se Guzar.

Welcoming him, the Coordinator of the Centre

Mohammad Tarique called him a new role model

for the nation, especially for the youth of

Kashmir.

Dr Shah Faisal being mobbed by students



At a time when Pakistan is arguably an

important determinant in global

geopolitics, how well does India, or for

that matter, the rest of the world, un-

derstand this complex nation? Is there enough

understanding of the social forces at work? How

well is Pakistan’s business doing? Is it self-suffi-

cient in food? What are its youth’s aspirations?

The energies of Indian think tanks seem to be

focused on its comparative defence preparedness

and its manoeuvres on the political chess board.

On the other hand, the media would occasionally

speak about the ordinary Pakistani’s eagerness to

come closer to India culturally. Jamia Millia

Islamia’s Pakistan Studies Programme, offered at

the MPhil level by the Maulana Mohamed Ali

Jauhar Academy of Third World Studies, seeks to

understand our western neighbour in a holistic

manner, covering all aspects.

Speaking on the occasion of a talk on the ‘Idea

of Pakistan in the Colonial Muslim Press’ organ-

ised by the Academy in early August, Vice-Chan-

cellor Najeeb Jung said that India suffered from

the misconception that it understood Pakistan,

whereas there was a huge gap in its understand-

ing of that nation. He added that a holistic under-

standing of Pakistan did not exist even among US

think tanks, despite Pakistan being a key

Washington ally in the war against terror. The

programme offered by Jamia bridges this gap.

Launched in 2004 and recognised by the UGC

in 2005, the objectives of the programme are:

� To promote India’s understanding of Pakistan

from a historical as well as contemporary

perspective.

� To produce a pool of scholars and expertise

on Pakistan.

� To stimulate debate in public spheres in India

for public policy making; and

� To organise reciprocal visits of scholars,

students, diplomats, writers and mediapersons

to give talks and lectures on social

science themes.

According to Dr Ajay Darshan Behera, coordi-

nator of the programme, the effort is to make it the

“biggest and the best” in India. Besides

Dr Mathew Joseph and Ambassador TCA Ran-

gachari, Pakistan experts at Jamia, the academy

invites the best brains on the subject for guest lec-

tures, including experts from the diplomatic

establishment. Every aspect, from Afghanistan-

Pakistan (Af-Pak) to military and political balance

in Pakistan to civil society, will be covered under

the programme. Dr Behera adds, “We think we

have a special role to play. The programme will

also allow for public policy debate on where our

relationship is heading.”

In the past too, a number of seminars, panel

discussions and talks have been organised on is-

sues like ‘Cultural Trends in Pakistani Society’ by

Dr Akbar Zaidi in 2002; ‘Pakistan after Septem-

ber 11: What has Changed and What has Not’ by

Prof Husain Haqqani of Boston University in

December 2005; and ‘Democratic Transition in

Pakistan: Beginning of a New Era’ by Prof SM

Naseem, Qaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, in

April 2008.

The Academy has a rich repository of books on

the subject, and plans to launch a series of mono-

graphs on Pakistan. Scholars from both within

and outside Jamia are invited to contribute. Stu-

dents of the centre are contributing to an under-

standing of Pakistan in other ways too. For

example, Salma Siddique, an MPhil student, has

written a term paper on films in Pakistan.

Zooming in on PakistanThe Academy for Third World Studies sharpens its focus on Pakistan Studies Programme

Students at the Academy of Third World Studies


Dr Jagmati Sangwan, Director,

Women Studies Centre,

Maharshi Dayanand Univer-

sity, Rohtak, is pitted against the

high and mighty of Haryanvi society.

After all, she has dared to take on

the Khap Panchayats of the north-

ern Indian state, who are defending

the notorious honour killings.

Even as the killings of a number

of couples came to light, the fami-

lies of the victims themselves and

the Panchayats demanded Constitu-

tional amendment to make same-

village and same-gotra marriage

illegal. Even some Parliamentarians

have toed the Khap line. What

historical forces are at play?

Dr Sangwan lent her analysis to

the debate at a talk organised by

the Department of History and

Culture, Jamia Millia Islamia, a few

weeks ago. Discussing at length the

socio-economic structure of

Haryana, particularly its agrarian

milieu, which had fostered such

traditions, she said, “As long as our

economy was agrarian, our relation-

ships will also form around that

economy. However, youngsters are

entering the services sector now

and relationships are going through

a different process altogether.”

Dr Sangwan, however, added a

note of caution, saying that there

was bound to be resistance. “As

upper castes are still in control of

the bulk of agrarian land, there is

the fear that if today a girl takes

control over her sexuality and

decides who she wants to marry,

tomorrow she might stake claim

to the land too, and the land could

pass into the hands of other

castes.”

At the same time, she felt that

parents might not want their chil-

dren killed; they would rather have

them leave the village. “It is the rel-

atives, and, more so, the Panchay-

ats, who have aggravated matters,”

she observed.

Sangwan is waging a long battle

to rid Haryanvi society of these ills

and exhorted students “to intervene

as reformers and to break this

dishonourable nexus”.

A French professor analyses Star ofIndia’s coverage on the idea of Pakistan

Confederation, not a separate nation, was what

the Muslim elite in Bengal wanted in the

thirties and early forties. That is what the

coverage of events in The Star of India, a newspaper

published from Kolkata, suggests. Prof Thierry Di

Costanzo of Strasbourg University, France, who has

studied the newspaper’s archive of 17 years (1932-49),

made these observations at a talk on the ‘Idea of

Pakistan in the Colonial Muslim Press’, organised by

the Maulana Mohamed Ali Jauhar Academy of Third

World Studies on August 5.

Prof Di Costanzo said that despite its limited

circulation (7 percent Bengal readership), it was an

important source of history of that period. “It was

unsupportive of separatism but did not favour

centralism.” In all the 17 years of the newspaper’s

archives, there were only 300 articles on Pakistan,

which translated into 6 percent of the total editorial

matter it published. Therefore, Pakistan was quite on

the margins of mainstream interest, he said.

It rejected the idea of British style democracy, with

its first-past-the-post principle, and also opposed

Gandhian nationalism. In fact, the newspaper’s writers

often described themselves as representatives of

“genuine nationalism”. There was a temporary flirting

with the idea of a Muslim India, and a rather late arrival

at the idea of a divided nation.

The paper also discussed the post-independence

scenario, pondering which language was to be adopted

as the national language; (and when Pakistan had

become a near certainty) whether the territory in the

west of India would form a union with Afghanistan, or

have an alliance with other Muslim nations.

The audience comprised diplomats, media experts,

academics and students. They raised some pointed

questions like the wisdom of relying on just one

newspaper. After all, questions of newspaper integrity

must have existed even then, and given newspaper

biases, a comparison with other Muslim newspapers,

from Bengal, and other provinces, was also called for,

they observed. The session was chaired by Prof Salil

Mishra of IGNOU.

The ugly face of ‘honour’An activist-academic exposes the mindset behind couple killings

Prof Thierry Di Costanzo (left) with VC Najeeb Jung (centre)

Talk onPartition


COURSE OF ACTION | GEOGRAPHY

Javed Zafar is a PhD student, working on

the energy geopolitics of Central Asia.

Surely, his work will ensure a place for him

in the academic world, which is where he

wants to be. But Zafar is not unaware of the world

of opportunities opening up in the areas of remote

sensing and cartography. He says, “With the market

opening up, new opportunities are coming up.

Everything today is connected to maps and imagery.

Name an area of modern life and you find that re-

mote sensing and geographic information system

(GIS) play a crucial role – agriculture, urban devel-

opment, environment, garbage management, and

even controlling crime.”

Remote-sensing the needThe Faculty of Natural Sciences at Jamia Millia

Islamia launched a Master’s degree in Remote Sens-

ing and GIS Applications in 1984, much before the

importance of these programmes had dawned on

society at large. It started an Advanced Diploma in

Remote Sensing and GIS in 2002.

Earlier, it became the first University to launch a

programme in Cartography (in 1978). After an up-

grade, its Advanced Diploma in Computer-Assisted

Cartography was launched in 1996-97. Says Prof SM

Rashid, Dean, Faculty of Natural Sciences, now Pro-

Vice-Chancellor, JMI: “When we upgraded into

computer-assisted cartography, we requested the

Surveyor General of India, the highest authority in

the field, to be on board. So the course curriculum

was approved in the presence of Surveyor General,

Lt Gen SK Mehta. From the very beginning, we knew

that the best people should be involved in the field.”

Similarly, for Jamia’s Remote Sensing pro-

grammes, ISRO gave it a grant of `27.3 lakh, which

enabled the University to set up a lab, with all the re-

quired software and work stations. Simultaneously,

the course was made compatible with that of the

Indian Institute of Remote Sensing.

It’s this infrastructure that has been attracting

young talent from across the country to Jamia to

pursue MA/MSc degrees, advanced diplomas and

even take up research in the disciplines of remote

sensing and cartography.

Course contoursRemote Sensing and GIS rely a great deal on satel-

lite imagery, with photographs relayed to us at reg-

ular intervals. It helps us to understand, for

example, Leh as it was before and after the recent

cloudburst that devastated the land.

The course will take students through various as-

pects like aerial photography, understanding of or-

bital platforms, image interpretation, functional

requirements of hardware and software for image

processing, hydrology and water resources, agricul-

ture and soil, remote sensing applications in human

settlement and urban analysis, etc. In the total

marking scheme of 1,200 marks, the project and

viva-voce will constitute 300 marks.

Career mapJob prospects for students of the PG Diploma in Remote Sensing, Computer-Assisted Cartography

TOPOGRAPHYAdvanced Diploma in Remote Sensing and GISEligibility: MA/MSc with not less than 50 per centmarks in aggregateSeats: 15Fee: Approx `6,845

Advanced Diploma in Computer Assisted CartographyEligibility: MA/MSc with not less than 50 per centmarks in aggregateSeats: 15Fee: Approx `6,845


The Advanced Diploma in computer assisted car-

tography carries 700 marks. The course will take you

through the process of map design, lettering and

symbolisation, aerial photography, etc.

Work topographyProf Rocket Ibrahim, Head of Department, Geogra-

phy, says his students are giving competition to en-

gineers in town planning. He adds: “A large number

of industries also need services of experts in this

field.” With programming knowledge you can expect

a good break in the IT sector. Prof Rashid cites an

alumnus’ case who joined the forest service as car-

tographer, then learnt computer-assisted cartogra-

phy and the digital analysis method, and is today

Executive Director, Technical, with Rolta India Ltd.

Abhiti Kant, pursuing an MA in Geography, plans

to join regional planning and work with an organi-

sation like the National Disaster Management Asso-

ciation; while Dheera, pursuing an Advanced

Diploma in Remote Sensing and GIS after a master’s

from Panjab University, Chandigarh, would like to

explore teaching. A Jamia alumnus and a cartogra-

pher, Mohammad Hassan is associated with the

renowned publishing house Dorling Kindersley,

helping it in creating city and country maps for its

travel guides.

As an expert in psychology, Prof Wa-

heeda Khan not only heads the De-

partment of Psychology at Jamia

Millia Islamia, but heads another crucial initia-

tive of the university, the University Coun-

selling and Guidance Centre (UCGC) as

honorary director. The initiative started in

2004 and has gained new features, to become

a one-stop guidance point for a range of prob-

lems that beset students.

Prof Khan lists the various services that the

centre renders, starting from helping students

choose the right career for themselves, based

on their interest, aptitude and personality. Per-

sonality development, especially communica-

tion skills, is an important issue that the centre

addresses. It also holds workshops on public

speaking, anger management, goal setting, re-

sume writing, group discussion skills, etc. Also

taught are email etiquette and the art of tele-

conversation.

Says Prof Khan: “Mental health is an impor-

tant aspect of personality and we need to focus

on that equally.” UCGC has the skills to deal

with psychological counselling, personal coun-

selling, behaviour therapy, crisis intervention

and stress management.

Its round-the-year calendar features talks

by counsellors – both in-house and outside

experts. Watch this space for regular updates

on counselling.

360 degreeadviceWhich door do Jamia’s students knock when in need of counselling?

Prof Waheeda Khanwith a student


STUDENT ZONE | EATING OPTIONS

It’s Fakeha Ali’s birthday but she hasn’t had a

bite since morning, forget a cake. After all, it’s

the month of Ramadan. She, along with her

friends, a group from both postgraduate and

undergraduate levels from Commerce and Humani-

ties, is sitting in front of Hygienic Café adjoining the

Faculty of Humanities and Languages. But what’s

keeping them entertained is a dance step that one of

the friends is performing, rather than rounds of tea

and patties, for which students usually throng this cafe.

As we start talking to this group to know their eat-

ing preferences in and around Jamia, the effect is elec-

trifying. At the mention of eateries, the group is

magically energised and mentions so many options,

that we struggle to keep pace. In a few minutes, Young

Jamia’s food fantasies are revealed and quite a few

myths busted.

Taste weighs moreFor one, admiration for size zero sirens Bebo (Ka-

reena Kapoor) and Bips (Bipasha Basu) notwith-

standing, low-calorie food is a non-issue. Students

drool at the thought of chicken biryani in the engi-

neering faculty canteen, Amritsari naan in Central

Canteen and chicken chowmein in Youth Café. Uzma

Ali, pursuing Islamic Studies, can’t stop talking

about the kachori at the nearby Nathus. And the

sparkle in BCom student Syeda Samia Jabeen’s eyes

as she admires Maggi served at the mass communi-

cation café is a million-dollar one. Tarannum Irfan,

who says she is a vegetarian, still describes

Al-Bake’s shawarma in the most tempting manner,

adding that her family is a great fan of that goodie.

Al-Bake is a popular outlet at the Community Centre

in New Friends Colony, next to Jamia, and is a great

hangout for students. Tarannum proudly informs us

that Jamia students call it their aangan (courtyard),

an extension of Jamia. For the uninitiated,

shawarma is a spicy kathi roll of chicken.

There are no guilt pangs about not getting ghar ka

khana (home-made food) to college. On

an average, each of these students spends about `50

per day to keep their taste buds satiated. And Syeda,

who’s a hostel student, recounts that when it comes

to common cooking among friends in the hostel, the

only thing that comes to mind is — you guessed it

Jamia and its environs offer enough options for students to fulfil their diverse food fantasies

Options around Jamia

Al-Bake, Community CentreShawarma `35, chilli potato, `45

Fast Trax, Community CentreVeg thali, `38; non-veg thali, `48; chicken noodles, `30;chicken kathi roll, `28; fried rice, `20; veg momos, `20

Batla HouseNon-veg thali, `50

Dilli Nahari HotelNahari, `20

Lunch time at Central Canteen

The world onYOUR PALETTE

Culinary Community


right — Maggi. Not to forget the numerous street

food options — the thelas selling momos, chowmein

and a range of other delicacies.

Venue over menuAnother insight gained is about the choice of venue.

Agreed, the University is in the vicinity of Jamia

Nagar and Zakir Nagar, where restaurants serving

traditional cuisine abound.

Among the famous outlets is Dilli Nahari Hotel

in Zakir Nagar. Nadeem Ahmed, a IInd year maths

student, who’s our cover face this time, prefers

lunch at Batla House, where a thali with mutton or

chicken costs `50. But despite their proximity,

these outlets are not among the favourite hangouts

of students. Mohammad Behzad Fatmi, a IInd year

BCom student, says he visits these places because

he lives in the area, but students from other parts

of the city don’t.

More popular are McDonalds for its burger, and

Fast Trax for its chicken kathi roll, chicken noodles

and thali. Both the outlets are at the Community

Centre. Tarannum is all praise for Al-Bake’s chilli

potato. Deepak Rawat, a mass media student,

in tune with the monsoon magic in Delhi this

year, says, “When the weather is so romantic, a

burger on the terrace of Fast Trax is the best

thing possible.”

Deserted dessertsAzam Siddiqui, another mass media student, rues

any good tea option. “All tea stalls we have serve tea

with powder milk,” he says. There can be no substi-

tute for tea, but still, there are some other options —

Rahul’s Coffee, serving coffee at `5, litchi juice at

Central Canteen, costing `7, lassi at the back of

main campus, and Mother Dairy’s ice cream booth.

Surprisingly, Indian sweet options are limited to

rasgulla and meetha samosa (you read it right) in

the Jamia School canteen, and rasgulla and phirni

at the engineering faculty. And students don’t crave

for that “must-have” celebration sweet, jalebi. If

they are unanimous in feeling excited about the

spices of life, they are equally united in their disin-

terest in Indian variants of desserts.

So when Fakeha finally gives a birthday bash, she

will rely on Bonbon or Open Oven at the Commu-

nity Centre to serve chocolate truffles, chocolate

fudge or black forests.

Options within Jamia

Hygienic CaféLocation: Near faculty of Humanities and Languages, sports officePatties, `10

Youth CaféLocation: Near MF Hussain Art GalleryThali, `45; chicken chowmein, `60; hakka noodles, `50

Central CanteenLocation: Main CampusAmritsari naan, `30; chhole bhature, `25; litchi juice, `7

Engineering faculty caféLocation: Engineering facultyChicken biryani, `25

Mass communication caféLocation: AJK Mass Communication Research CentreMaggi, `10

Departmental Diet


He’s humble, down-to-earth, and

doesn’t mind admitting to his fears.

For instance, fear of an approaching

canine, as this interview progressed.

But underneath is a deep determination to surge

ahead in life, and clarity about how to achieve it.

Waiz Karim, a graduate in engineering (electronics

and communications) from Jamia Millia Islamia,

New Delhi, knows his future is in photonics, a newly-

emergent area pertaining to the study of light, and

his path has been illuminated, thanks to the coveted

Erasmus Mundus Scholarship.

Waiz has been selected for a two-year postgradu-

ate course in the European Union, as part of which

he will spend one semester at the Institut Fresnel,

Universite Paul Cezanne Aix-Marseille III, France,

and another semester at Karlsruhe Institute of Tech-

nology, Universitat Karlsruhe. Where he spends his

third semester will be decided on the basis of further

specialisation that he chooses — Photonics, Biopho-

tonics or Nanophotonics. The scholarship will cover

his travel, living expenses and tuition, along with in-

surance cover.

A brilliant student with a no-nonsense track

record since his Indian School Dammam and DPS

Mathura Road days, Waiz can’t stop praising

Jamia and its engineering department for its

academic rigour and its atmosphere for learning.

He says, “Jamia has the best engineering depart-

ment in the NCR, after IIT. There’s complete inde-

pendence to do what you want.” It’s for this reason,

says Waiz, that his classmates have got good place-

ments, or have gained admission to IIMs or done

well in GATE. Waiz, too, was selected by TCS, and

to a few programmes in the US, but the interdisci-

plinary approach of the photonics course in the EU,

where he would be rubbing shoulders with experts

from diverse backgrounds, appealed to him more,

as did the prospect of travel.

Those temptations notwithstanding, Waiz is

clear that he wants to come back to India to apply

his learning here. As in the case of Jamia, the issue

of “freedom” is paramount in his mind. “The free-

dom and opportunities that you get here, you won’t

get anywhere… Photonics is in a nascent stage here.

In any field, those who join in the early stages are

at an advantage.”

The excitement of mingling with people from di-

verse backgrounds has led Waiz to do some

groundwork, such as touching base with his

prospective classmates. And also to do some reality

checks on living conditions and climes on the Net.

But at the thought of the Europeans’ love for

canines, the beam that seems to have permanently

settled on that face vanishes for a split second.

Photonic futureEngineering graduate Waiz Karim decided to make a career out of studying light. And won the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship.

STUDENT ZONE | DIFFERENT STROKES


Who says the Harry Potter series is child’s

stuff? People aged 80 are hooked on to

it. And it’s also attracting some serious

research. Neha Singh (in photograph) and Tarini

Pandey, MPhil students at Jamia, were spellbound

enough to zero in on Potter mania as their research

theme.

Neha, who grew up reading abridged versions of

classics, became fond of Russian authors in college

and thought Harry Potter was a fad. She picked up

the first book only because a friend urged her to

read it. Then she understood the hold of Rowling.

The Secret, Neha realised, lay in “the vast universe

she (JK Rowling) creates. Fantasy depends upon

how believable you make it.”

For Tarini, what appealed was that Harry Potter

has everything, from popular culture and fantasy to

boarding school capers, adventure to fairy tale.

What also fascinated her was the consistency of

thought, a detailed cross-reference of facts that runs

throughout the series, which holds the narrative to-

gether. If there was a prize for the best in the Potter

series, Tarini’s would go to Volume 3, and to the

character of Snape.

Neha, daughter of an

armyman, graduated from

Gargi College, Delhi, and

did her master’s from Delhi

University (DU). For her

MPhil, she turned to Jamia

as she missed the DU dates.

This proved a “blessing in disguise”. She’s today a

lecturer at Gargi.

Tarini graduated from DU and earned her mas-

ter’s from IGNOU. She chose the Distance Educa-

tion option because she wanted the freedom to

explore future career options. But then, her love for

academics proved to be paramount. The stint at

Jamia was very fulfilling. “Jamia was very nurturing.

There were no hierarchies, no prejudices,” she says.

Both scholars have discovered the right potion to

give their careers a leg up.

A student’s scoreboardRameez Nemat has chosen cricket as his ‘field’ of study

His father is a professor of social

work in Jamia, and mother a TGT

teacher in Jamia School. But

books never appealed to Rameez. “Fa-

ther never asked me to study. Though he

is an academic he never said anything.”

As a result, Rameez got the freedom to

choose his career, and what he chose

was cricket. This alumnus of DPS

Mathura Road started playing cricket at

the age of 12, and then played Under-14,

Under-16 and Under-19 levels as part of

Delhi state, after which he shifted to

Jharkhand. He became captain of the

Jharkhand state Under-22 team in 2008-

09 and member of the state Ranji team

in the same year.

Though that did not leave him enough

time for studies, he still secured 55 per-

cent in his BA in political science at

Jamia, and has now joined MBA pro-

gramme in the same university.

To Jamia, he’s thankful for its zero per-

cent attendance provision for sportsmen.

He rates its sports ground as“one of the

best in India”. He adds, “You should not

leave the basis on which you got admis-

sion in the first place... One to two hours

of studies in a day is enough.”

That focus notwithstanding, he does

get time for comedy films, preferably

featuring Rajpal Yadav, and listening to

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The right pitch for

the future.

Under Potter’s spellTwo Jamia researchers are on Rowling’s trail



PAGE OUT OF THE PAST | 1920

Scholars and academics treasure their in-

dependence, and abhor government inter-

ference in the running of educational

institutions. With government aid comes

government control. And if the government of the

day happens to be an alien power, the effect on

individual freedom would be all the more stifling.

This was the scenario in Aligarh Muslim University

(Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College) in 1920, the

year that saw the birth of Jamia Millia Islamia out

of this parent institution. It was the urge for inde-

pendence that led to the creation of Jamia, an insti-

tution born out of a historical event, not as an act of

Parliament, says Prof SM Azizuddin, Dean, Faculty

of Humanities and Languages, Jamia.

World woesThe independence that he talks of was academic in-

dependence. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had founded

Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College to impart

modern education to Muslims, so that they could

get jobs in the British administration. However,

aided by British grants, it was increasingly becom-

ing an institution grooming students for govern-

ment jobs and for making them British loyalists. But

a small group of visionaries at the college had al-

ready started questioning this dependence. They

wanted autonomous status for the college. These

sentiments, coupled with resentment against the

racist attitude of some teachers and administrators,

even led to a student strike in 1907.

The period following World War I saw this inde-

pendent spirit being ignited further by a series of in-

cidents. Britain had fought the war to supposedly

preserve the values of democracy, but its policies to-

wards its colonies had hardly changed after the war.

Indians were disappointed with the Rowlett Act; the

Jallianwala Bagh incident further demonstrated the

true intentions of the rulers.

At the same time, Muslims in India were worried

about the plight of Turkey, which had allied with

Germany in the war. Muslims the world-over re-

garded the Khalifa (Caliph) in Turkey as their head.

But even prior to the World War, the declining in-

fluence of Turkey and its reverses in the Balkan War

had caused great anxiety among Muslims. Now

their fear that the victorious Allies would deal ruth-

lessly with Turkey came true when the victors took

away control of Saudi Arabia (then called Hejaz),

Palestine, Iraq and Syria from it. When Mahatma

Gandhi suggested non-cooperation against the

British Government, the Khilafat Committee,

formed for taking up the cause of Khalifa, agreed to

support him. Thus, the Non-Cooperation and Khi-

lafat Movements came to be launched together.

Dissidence at doorstepsOne aspect of non-cooperation was the boycott of

institutions. Gandhiji felt that it should include

educational institutions too. He held that schools

and colleges should shun government aid, failing

which students should boycott such institutions.

Therein lay the seed of the crisis at the Moham-

madan Anglo Oriental College, which was funded

by the Government, and where parents sent their

Product ofKhilafatA group of nationalists split from their parent institution in Aligarh to form Jamia Millia Islamia

Intent on academic freedom: Jamia’s beginnings in tents at Aligarh.


wards to prepare them for government jobs, not dis-

obedience.

At the peak of the Non-Cooperation Movement,

on October 12, 1920, Gandhiji, accompanied by Khi-

lafat leader Maulana Mohamed Ali, an alumnus of

Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College, arrived in

Aligarh to address the students. Their plea to stu-

dents to boycott an institution funded by a repressive

government was greeted with jeers. This episode was

missed by a young 23-year-old lecturer, Zakir Hu-

sain, who had been a part of Mohammadan Anglo

Oriental College for seven years, being a sterling per-

former in academics and held in high esteem by stu-

dents and teachers for his intellectual acumen.

Husain was in Delhi that day to get himself ex-

amined by Dr MA Ansari for an illness. When he

reached Aligarh railway station on the evening of the

12th, he was appalled at the derogatory talk about

the two leaders. That catalysed his resolve to further

the Non-Cooperation Movement in his

institution.

On October 13, students demanded that the col-

lege stop accepting government aid. They threatened

that if their demands were not met by October 26,

they would leave no stone unturned to convert the

institution into a national institution themselves.

The next two weeks were marked by apprehension

and nervous excitement. While the authorities, to

maintain order, sent telegrams to parents to take

back their wards and offered attractive jobs to cer-

tain students to crush the movement, the students

galvanised support in favour of a national institu-

tion. Zakir Husain visited Hakim Ajmal Khan,

Dr Ansari and Mohamed Ali in Delhi and assured

them that if a national institution was formed, there

would be enough students willing to break away.

Foundation Jamia was formally inaugurated at Aligarh College

Mosque, with Hakim Ajmal Khan as its Chancellor

and Maulana Mohamed Ali as Vice-Chancellor. It

was largely funded by the Khilafat Committee and

donations from individuals interested in an au-

tonomous institution.

Years later, remembering those heady days of

October 1920, Dr Zakir Husain said, “Along with

obedience and loyalty, abiding by the norm of this

academic place of my own free will was no less than

freedom to me. However, this very fountain of life

invested me with the power to rise against its own

system when I found it in conflict with my con-

science. I was declared a rebel, expelled from here

and spent about a quarter of a century in creating a

new tent.”

When we sat down to give a

name to this new publication,

we had to choose from among

equally strong ‘contenders’. In par-

ticular, Jamia Nama was popular

among the editorial board, as it

was a direct and effective name.

Giving it competition was the name

Jauhar. It carried a mystery, and

would incite readers to pick it up,

said the aye sayers. But it carried wrong connotations

too, and might confuse the readers, said the nay sayers.

One reason that weighed in favour of Jauhar was an

earlier publication, run by Dr Zakir Husain, by the same

name, when Jamia had just begun. More importantly,

‘Jauhar’ was the poetic name of Jamia’s founding father

Maulana Mohamed Ali, who was not only a firebrand

leader, but also a writer and a poet, and who had

started two publications, Comrade and Hamdard. This

University owes its genesis to him, and Jauhar is a

tribute to him.

Genesis of JauharPhotos courtesy PRO, Aligarh Muslim University

How the new Jamia newsletter got its name

PAGE OUT OF THE PAST | Reminiscences

Living in a quiet lane behind

Jamia Millia Islamia with his

daughters, Mohammad Tayyab

is content that he has lived

through a significant part of India’s history,

as also of Jamia’s. There’s a tinge of sad-

ness though as he says, “You’ve come at a

time when everything is over. I’m short of

hearing, and my memory fails me now.”

Still, when one starts prodding him to

share some of his experiences with us, he

comes up with some remarkable episodes

from the past 75 years.

Tayyab enrolled in the pri-

mary school of Jamia in 1925.

Remember, those times were

different and parents en-

rolled their wards at what-

ever age, and in whichever

class they felt like. The fee

was Rs 15, and that too was

unaffordable. The magnani-

mous Jamia would patiently

wait, no ultimatums issued.

Jamia was then in Karol

Bagh, at a time when the city

was sparsely populated. He recalls the activities stu-

dents took part in — gardening, taking care of the

poultry farm, etc. But this young student was just

interested in one thing — athletics. In class IV or V,

he competed against Jamia college students and

came third. And he fondly remembers beating the

100 metre record of the time.

His athletic aptitude endeared him to the leg-

endary AJ Kellat, a teacher from Kerala who had

come all the way to Jamia, attracted by its national-

ist fervour. If Kellat promoted him through sport,

Zakir Husain, the Vice-Chancellor, made a seem-

ingly difficult subject like maths easy, with his hu-

mour. “He had a way with students,” Tayyab

remembers.

Tayyab’s moment of glory in school came in the

senior classes (don’t ask which, he can’t remember),

when he cycled all the way to Kashmir and back.

Prior to the Kashmir adventure, he

had gone on a bicycle tour to Panipat.

The journey to Kashmir was via

Jammu, and the return journey via

Rawalpindi. As they say, descent is

more difficult than the ascent. He lost

control of the cycle on a steep path

and fell into a ditch. A protruding rock stopped his

fall. The heroic youngster held on to the rock with

one hand and his cycle with the other. Tayyab recalls

that teachers and fellow students at Jamia had as-

sembled in tents on the outskirts of Delhi to wel-

come the team back.

It was in 1948 that he got a call from Jamia to

join as an accounts officer. “I got a call that the uni-

versity needs you. I was given a salary of `150.

Sometime later, they decided to increase it to `200.

But then immediately the problem arose that

others’ salaries would also have to be increased.

They reluctantly raised this issue with me. And I

said that to me it doesn’t make any difference,

whether I get `150 or `200.”

The veteran of Jamia, who retired in 1975, must

be proud that his alma mater has evolved into a

world-renowned institution.�

To Pir Panjal on pedalsA treasure trove of memories from the pre-Independence period


IN THE COMING MONTHSInternational Interdisciplinary Science Conference onNanobiotechnology: An Interface BetweenPhysics and Biology

Organised by: Centre for Interdisci-

plinary Research in Basic Sci-

ences, Jamia Millia Islamia

Date: December 2-4, 2010

Agenda: Scientists, engineers,

technocrats and industrialists

from across the world will come

together at Jamia to share knowl-

edge on the multiple dimensions

of nano-technology, especially its

applications in industry. Themes

will be:

lSynthesis and fabrication of

nanomaterials

lNanobiomaterials and devices

lBioimaging and radiation biology

lBiopolymers and nanobiocom-

posites

lNanobioelectronics

lNanodrugs and delivery systems,

nanobiomedicines

lBioMEMS and BioNEMS

lNanobioenergy conversion

lNanotoxicity and bio-

compatibility issues

lSimulations of nano- and

nanobiosystems

l Interdisciplinary approach

There will be an exhibition too,

where industry representatives

have been invited to exhibit their

products. Stall charges for 3mX3m

space are Rs 20,000. There will be

awards for best poster presenta-

tion, best oral presentation and

best industry-oriented

research work.

Accommodation and travel

Limited accommodation in the

university guest house, on ‘first

come first served’ basis; hotel

accommodation on specific

request, on payment basis.

Students will be accommodated in

the hostels on a nominal payment.

Airport pick-up and drop facility,

free of charge. Post-conference

tour to Agra, Jaipur and Mathura,

on payment basis.

Contact

General Secretary, IISC 2010,

CIRBSc, JMI, Jamia Nagar,

New Delhi – 110025

Mobile: +91-9910512433

Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Kashful Baghaavat Gorakhpur is based onan account of the Revolt of 1857, written inUrdu-Persian by a Sufi aristocrat Ahmad

Ali Shah in 1857-1858. It is an original source ma-terial for researchers of history. Farhat Nasreen,an Associate Professor in the Department of His-tory and Culture, has translated and transliteratedthe book in English and written a detailed intro-duction, which places the book in the context ofthe current debates on 1857 and the theory of the ‘clash of civilisations’.The work throws light on the social and economic conditions prevailingat the time of the Revolt.

The Revolt was one of the first major confrontations that the imperi-alists had faced in Asia. Multiple identities were acting as agencies ofthe rebellion; there were identities within identities, which were in aconstant state of flux and metamorphosis. This book contributes to abetter understanding of the causes of the Revolt and the various agencies which were at play in those times.

From the book: Rahi fikr es ki mujhe daimaKe kis wajhe se aisa balwa hua...(I pondered over this ceaselessly, As to why did such a riot happen)

Tamassuk khun ko naya karte hainVala mul mein sood ko dharte hain(They keep renewing the clink of monetary bondsFreely they added interest to the principal amount)

1857, Revisited

Dr Madan Mohan, Assistant Professor of Ge-ography, presented a research paper on thetheme ‘Geospatial Information for Urban

Sprawl Planning and Policies Implementation inDeveloping Country’s NCR Region: A Study ofNOIDA City, India’ at the ‘FIG Congress 2010,XXIV FIG International Congress’, which was organised jointly by the Federation Internationaledes Géomètres (International Federation of Surveyors, or FIG) andthe Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) at Sydney, Aus-tralia, from 11 to 16 April, 2010. He spoke at the technical session on‘Spatial Planning and Development’. The research paper presentedwas an outcome of an on-going major research project (MRP), whichwas financially supported by the University Grants Commission.

Paper on Urban PlanningDr Madan MohanAssistant Professor, Department of Geography,Faculty of Natural Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia

Title: Kashful Baghaavat GorakhpurAuthor: Farhat Nasreen, Associate Professor, Department of History & Culture, Jamia Millia IslamiaPublisher: Rupa Publications India LtdPages: 370Price: Rs 995


PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS

Jamia Middle School

Set amid the various departments and faculties on the sprawling campus of Jamia Millia Islamia is a historic building that houses the Jamia MiddleSchool. Built in 1935, the school, in its early

years, was witness to the popular “experimentalteaching” of Dr Zakir Husain. Today, it is an Urdu-medium, co-educational institution

with hostel facilities for boys from classes VI to VIII.The building was designed by the German architect

Karl Heinz. It is being restored by the Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics.

Jamia Millia IslamiaMaulana Mohamed Ali Jauhar Marg, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi - 110025

EPABX: +91(11)26981717, 26988044, 26984075, 26985176Website: www.jmi.ac.in

Documents

Jauhar - A Quarterly Magazine of JMI